Brooklyn Pet Spa — Attraction in New York

I was greatly mislead by all of the positive reviews and I cannot emphasize enough to read the negative ones and pay attention to those -- because I didn't.

I brought my gentle, 7 year old west highland terrier to in for a 3pm appointment today. She has health conditions that I had noted when I made the appointment and clearly stated the treatments she cannot have because of it in writing and was told that is not a problem. When I arrived, I said I was here for a 3pm appointment and was not checked in, but a woman come over with a piece of paper on a clip board asking me how I wanted the cut. I said that I wanted a typical breed cut with a round head and that she has spots where hair is re-growing, so to just trim and even out her body. I was repeatedly asked for clarification on what I wanted for the cut -- as in to describe a westie cut which made me nervous. The woman was scribbling notes on this paper with every other dog's scribble notes and there was no sheet with my dog's specific information or with the notes I had given when I made the appointment. So, I reiterated all of them which was news to her and she just said "okay." While I was standing in the front room, there was a dog tied up who was excitedly pulling at his collar and choking himself. That also alarmed me. Then I was told it would take 1-3 hours and they would let me know within 20 mins to come pick her up, I was shocked by, but went against my better judgement and gave the leash to this woman. The woman took the leahe and my dog followed until I began to leave and then she, of course, tried to go with me. This woman was pulling on her and seemed to have no experience or understanding how to handle a dog and eventually very awkwardly picked her up at which point I felt like something was off and should have taken her back.

I went home and had a really bad feeling about all of it, so I started searching for more info despite having read their reviews online prior -- which mainly appeared to be positive. Then, I found a recent thread in a community group page where people were sharing that their animals had been abused while in the care of this place and one woman claimed her healthy dog had died after a visit. So I called and asked for a hard pick-up time. The man who answered is apparently not in the building and had to call me back to ask the groomers. He called back and then said 2-4 hours after she had been there already for almost an hour. I asked if she had already been started. He said he'd call me back. When he did he said they had to find out where she was and who her groomer was and that she hadn't been started yet. A.K.A. she had been sitting in a cage for an hour while waiting. Why even bother scheduling appointments. I said that I would like to pick her up as soon as I could and he said he'd call me back. He called back a third time and asked when I wanted to come and I said I was walking there already. The man said that nothing had been started and that was no issue and that he told them to have her ready.

When I got her home, I discovered that she had two bloody nails. I don't know if they had cut them or if she had been unsupervised and got her claw caught in a cage, but to say the absolute least, it is horrifying. the nail is a stub. She also had blood on the fur of her neck which I can only imagine is from the front nail profusely bleeding and clearly not being attended to -- I was not alerted that it had happened when I picked her up.

I will also note that when I made the appointment, I was not asked for a vaccine history which was also a red flag to me, but I had naively assumed they were taking one dog at a time rather than keeping them stored in...

Pros: Sandro (I believe he's the person I talked to on the phone) was amazing to talk to. He's very honest and after listening to what I wanted for my pup, he recommended the bath & deshedding treatment for my pup which is what I got in the end. Their deshedding treatment is amazing. She has been shedding so much less than before. Sandro is definitely a sweetheart - he was even able to accommodate me bringing in my pup early due to a meeting I had to attend and picking her up after my work ended.

Cons: Unfortunately, Sandro & their deshedding treatment is honestly the only reason why I'd return, that's IF I do. I had went to drop off my pup and there was a receptionist who I was talking to right in front of her face, but she couldn't hear me because there was some lady right next to her speaking on her phone VERY loudly. If she was a customer I wouldn't mind because who can really control that, right? But no, she was a worker and when she was done with whatever she was doing up front, she continued her very loud conversation to the back. After she left, I tried to tell her my appointment time and that I came to drop her off early, the receptionist just picked up the phone...and stayed on the phone for another 10-15 mins while I just stood there in front of her. Then when I went to go pick her up, there were couple of people waiting for their pups. However, the receptionist (a different one from the afternoon) came back with the client's pups then sat down and answered her personal cell phone...while other clients were waiting to pay and I haven't even told her who I'm here to pick up. Kind of ridiculous to the point where the other client said "excuse me, we'd like to pay" which she THEN hung up and then took the client's payment. I understand sometimes you need to take a personal call, but I don't think it's in front of clients/customers or VERY loudly in front of them. If I actually had a better experience dropping off/picking up my pup then definitely 5/5. If you don't really care about how receptionists treat you,...

If you truly care about your pet’s wellbeing, please think carefully before bringing them here.

I came here a few times, always hoping things would get better, but now I really regret not opening my eyes sooner. My first visit wasn’t great, the lobby was overcrowded, with only one receptionist trying to do everything alone while several customers were waiting with their dogs. I don’t blame the front desk person, but it was clearly too much for one person to handle. On top of that, the haircut I asked for came out completely different, and my dog’s nails were poorly done. When I left a review about it, the owner reached out, apologized, and explained that there had been a “family emergency” that day. He offered me a complimentary groom if I gave them another chance, and I decided to trust him.

The second time, the haircut looked nice, but the front lobby situation was still a mess (very crowded, long waits, and again just one person at the desk). I tried to overlook it. The third and final visit was when I really understood that the problems were not going away. I was told I’d receive a discount if I left a good review, which made me question why there are so many glowing reviews despite the issues I personally experienced. That last time, my dog came home with poop still stuck to his fur and almost all of his nails cut too short. I know accidents can happen with nails, and it’s not a huge deal if it’s just one or two, but when it happens on almost every paw, it feels like a lack of attention and care.

Looking back, I wish I had paid more attention to the negative reviews instead of giving more chances. From what I observed, they overbook, rush the dogs, and the quality of care doesn’t feel consistent. Based on my experiences, I personally would not bring my...